The New Orleans Saints suddenly find themselves in quarterback purgatory less than two years after the retirement of franchise legend Drew Brees.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is also in a bit of limbo following early-season struggles and with the sophomore sidelined due to a high-ankle sprain. Meanwhile, rookie fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe is doing his best to take the QB1 job from Jones.
There could be a scenario in which Jones becomes available ahead of the Nov. 1 NFL trade deadline, especially considering the drama reportedly taking place behind the scenes in New England. The Saints are in need of a franchise quarterback. Could this be a marriage made in the heavens? Below, we look at three reasons why it makes sense.
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New Orleans Saints quarterback issues
Andy Dalton will once again get the start Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals. It’s not necessarily an ideal scenario for a Saints team that is 2-4 on the campaign and looking to remain at least relevant in the NFC Playoff picture. In fact, Dalton is the only QB in NFL history to have lost five straight primetime starts by at least 17 points. That shouldn’t give Saints fans a warm feeling.
Dalton took over for an injured Jameis Winston as New Orleans Starter back in Week 4 after Winston struggled big time to open the season. That included the former No. 1 pick throwing five interceptions in less than three games. It’s not quite the 30-interception performance he put up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2019. But it’s not good. Simply put, neither Dalton or Winston represent the future of the quarterback position in the Bayou after Brees held down the fort from 2006-2020.
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Mac Jones as a fit for the New Orleans Saints
Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael runs a West Coast system. This is to say, a scheme that relies on intermediate passes with the receivers boasting an ability to rack up yards after the catch. Any fan of legendary former 49ers head coach Bill Walsh knows full well what type of scheme this is. In short, it doesn’t require a quarterback with a strong arm. Rather, it’s all about accuracy. The aforementioned Mr. Brees was a prime example of this. Jones is, too.
Throughout his first 20 career starts, Jones is completing north of 67% of his passes. He’s about as accurate as they get for a young quarterback. Imagine him doing work with the likes of stud rookie receiver Chris Olave for the Saints. If Michael Thomas ever returns from his injury-plagued ways, that would be magnified further. Let us not forget about dual-threat running back Alvin Kamara, either.
Related: Drama rises between Mac Jones and the New England Patriots as relationship gets icy
Mac Jones could potentially be had in a trade
We mentioned how well Zappe has looked in his first two starts above. It can’t go unnoticed when looking at the Patriots’ quarterback situation. In short, he already looks the part of a starter-caliber quarterback. As for Jones, it does seem that his relationship with the Patriots has soured a bit.
“There’s chatter that Jones isn’t thrilled with the situation there, starting with Belichick’s failure/refusal to replace skilled and experienced offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels with another skilled and experience designer and caller of plays.”
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio on Mac Jones’ situation with the Patriots
We wouldn’t put it past Bill Belichick and Co. to put Jones on the trade block ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline. He’s made several moves of this ilk during the future Hall of Famer’s run in New England.
In turn, New Orleans offers up its first-round pick in 2024, a future first-round selection and a young player to make this worth the Patriots’ while. Perhaps, someone like offensive tackle Trevor Penning could make sense for the Pats.